annotated bibliography
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smartdeviceevolution.pdf
International Journal of Electronic Commerce / Fall 2003, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 23–36. Copyright © 2003 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All rights reserved.
1086-4415/2003 $9.50 + 0.00.
The Evolution of New Mobile Applications: A Sociotechnical Perspective
Jonathan P. Allen
ABSTRACT: Lit tle is known about how viable new mobile applications emerge in complex commercial environments. Research in the sociology of technology suggests that the evo- lution of new applications is a process of social interaction bet ween multiple constituen- cies, aiming to create a common definition of mobile technology problems and solutions that is obvious only in retrospect. This theory is illustrated by the early evolution of the personal digital assistant (PDA). According to this view, established technological commu- nities at tempt to impose their own definitions of key problems and solutions on new mo- bile technology, thereby forcing newer players to provide a “total system” that completely redefines a new application area.
KEY WORDS AND PHRASES: Mobile applications, personal digital assistant, sociology of technology, technology evolution.
There is still considerable uncertainty about how new mobile applications emerge in complex commercial environments. Technologies evolve in chang- ing circumstances, subject to many competing processes of cultural, social, economic, and military selection [3]. Early forms of emerging technologies are generated not only through simple technological improvements, but also by applying existing technology to new applications. The search for new ap- plications, rather than technological progress, can be the most important dy- namic in emerging technology areas such as mobile commerce. “Technological discontinuities are generally not the product of singular events in the devel- opment of technology itself. . . . the critical factor is often a speciation event, transplanting the existing technological know-how to a new domain of appli- cation where it evolves in new directions. The technological advance associ- ated with the shift in domain is typically quite minor” [1].
Research in the sociology of technology suggests that the evolution of new applications should be seen as a process of social interaction [4]. This paper uses a theoretical perspective from the sociology of technology to explain the early evolution of the personal digital assistant (PDA), an important new mobile application. The PDA is a programmable computer for consumer use that is designed to be used as a portable, handheld device. There are many different potential applications for this broad category of technology. This paper investigates the evolution of new applications for PDAs in this early category of mobile computing.
This research was supported by the ESRC Virtual Society Programme. The author thanks the technology managers and analysts who participated in the research.
24 JONATHAN P. ALLEN
Information Technology Evolution: A Sociotechnical Perspective
Despite the lingering image of technology as the planned application of scien- tific knowledge, recent research in the sociology of technology suggests that technological change entails great social complexity. A wide range of economic, social, political, cultural, legal, commercial, and military explanations try to account for why technological change takes the form that it does. Academic disciplines in the social sciences, such as economics, political science, and so- ciology, each have their own views of technology evolution.
The view of technology evolution presented here is based on work in the sociology of technology, which tries to tie together the technical and social aspects of technological change. What does it mean to create technological change? How does it happen, and how do we know that a change has taken place? For sociologists of technology, technological change is a process of so- cial interaction between multiple constituencies, including different groups of producers, investors, consumers, and regulators [4]. Technological change is created when all the different constituencies engage in sustained social in- teractions, using a common definition of technology problems and solutions. Sets of producers agree to develop, maintain, and make available a particular form of technology with certain performance characteristics. Investors are willing to cooperate by providing the resources for the new technological form. Consumers agree to acquire and use the technology in certain ways. Regula- tors allow, encourage, and restrict particular uses.
Earlier attempts to use a sociotechnical perspective in research on informa- tion technology (IT) have examined its technological and social aspects simul- taneously [7, 12]. Despite this research tradition, a recent review of IT research showed that most studies focus on only one aspect: either the information- processing capabilities of IT in isolation from their development and use con- text, or the context and effects of IT in isolation from technological decisions [11]. Unless both technological and social detail are taken seriously in IT re- search, there is a danger that “the IT artifact itself tends to disappear from view, be taken for granted, or presumed to be unproblematic once it is built and installed” [11]. A sociotechnical perspective is likely to be useful for un- derstanding new mobile applications and the complex interrelationships be- tween their technological and social processes.
A sociotechnical perspective on information technology argues, based on the sociology of technology, that the emergence of new technology is an at- tempt to create a common definition that will provide a means for sustained social interaction in development, acquisition, and use. A common definition of a new technology ensures that all parties know what the new technology is good for, what it is trying to achieve, and its most desirable characteristics. For example, in the personal computer (PC) industry, a common definition prevails about the most useful applications of PCs, their most important per- formance criteria, and even how PCs should look. Before this common defini- tion won acceptance, producers developed many different types of PC technology, consumers had to be aware of many technology differences and
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 25
willing to experiment with new applications, and investors backed many dif- ferent competing technology directions.
The common definition of a new technology that provides a means for sus- tained social interaction can be conceptualized as a technological frame [4]. A technological frame consists of “all the elements that influence interaction . . . and lead to the attribution of meanings to technical artifacts” [4]. Following Kuhn’s concept of a disciplinary matrix in the natural sciences [9], a techno- logical frame provides at least three different types of resources for sustained social interaction:
• The most important problem to be solved by a technology, expressed as a vision of a barrier or dilemma faced by a particular set of users.
• The most important performance criteria for a technology, offering a potential solution to the problem.
• An exemplary artifact, a material example that serves as a role model of what the technology should be.
The concept of technological frames is fundamentally sociotechnical be- cause it only considers the physical form of the artifact (the exemplary arti- fact) in conjunction with its “socially” defined problems and success criteria. Multiple social groups participate in the formation, or attempted formation, of new technological frames. Individual members of social groups (i.e., spe- cific producers, investors, or consumers) will already be interacting through other established technological frames as the search for a new technological frame begins.
Analyzing New Technology Evolution
The sociotechnical view of change implied by the concept of technological frames leads to a two-phase analytic process for analyzing new technology evolution. The first phase identifies the relevant social groups involved in new technology formation, and their existing definitions of the most impor- tant technological problems and solutions. The first phase will be defined as analyzing existing social interaction around relevant technologies. The second phase maps out the attempts by different social groups, working individually or together, to create a new technological frame. This second phase will be defined as analyzing the search for a common definition.
Phase 1: Existing social interaction. An analysis of the relevant social groups and their existing definitions of the most important problems and solutions with respect to a new technology.
Phase 2: Search for a common definition. An analysis of the attempts to establish a new common definition of a technological frame, specify- ing a problem, solution requirements, and an exemplary artifact.
The remainder of the paper will illustrate this analytic process through a discussion of new application evolution in the early PDA industry. The sociotechnical perspective on new mobile application evolution is intended
26 JONATHAN P. ALLEN
to make sense of the seeming chaos of the early phases of PDA evolution that is not well explained either by accounts of straightforward technological progress, or by the strategic maneuvering of the most powerful players.
The aspect of technology evolution that is most difficult to appreciate is the notion that the common definition of a new technological frame is only obvi- ous in retrospect. New technology applications do not come with their own built-in success criteria—they must be defined through a process of discovery [6]. During the early stages of technology evolution, many new definitions of a technological frame are proposed. These new definitions can attract sub- stantial effort and resources, even if they do not ultimately lead to sustained social interaction. A view of technology evolution as the search for sustained social interaction around a common definition should be particularly helpful for understanding the emerging next generation of mobile commerce applica- tions, as different constituencies attempt to package existing technology for different application domains.
The data for the analysis of new technology evolution consisted of two elements: a database of released PDA products, and a database of informa- tion and commentary on technological frames proposed by producers, inves- tors, and consumers in the PDA industry. The database of released PDA products was based on information in the Handheld Computer Almanac [10]. Of the 238 PDAs listed in this source, 71 were intended for consumer use (as opposed to specialized industry applications). Information from the HCA, supplemented with Internet searches, was used to compile a database of tech- nical characteristics for the 71 PDAs, including date of release, size, operating system, form factor, screen size, weight, amount of RAM, CPU clock speed, battery life (reported), input types, and connectivity ports.
The second database was used to identify the technological frames that influenced interactions in the early PDA industry. This database consisted of press releases and trade press articles pertaining to the PDA industry taken from the ABI/Inform Global database between 1988 and 1997. Of the 2,528 ar- ticles found, 425 were selected for inclusion in the database because they con- tained some commentary, evaluation, or statements about PDAs in general or specific PDA products in particular. These trade press data were analyzed through the use of grounded theory qualitative data techniques [13], includ- ing open coding, constant comparison, and searches for negative instances. “Technological frame” was used as an initial sensitizing device for the analy- sis. The result of this analysis was a characterization of four technological frames that were particularly influential for producers, investors, and con- sumers during the early phase of the PDA industry. Seventeen interviews with PDA technologists and analysts (fully transcribed, averaging 50 minutes each) were used as a check on the reasonableness of the results.
PDA Background
The personal digital assistant (PDA) was one of the first examples of a commer- cially successful, physically mobile, post-PC application. After the introduction of the Palm Pilot in 1996, a common definition of the PDA as a “connected
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 27
organizer” with easy PC synchronization became widespread in the industry. During the preceding decade, however, the PDA industry had experienced much uncertainty about the most appropriate applications for PDA technology. Very few PDA producers reached a level of commercial success. Even Psion, the PDA producer with the largest installed base during the period, was not able to establish a technological frame that guided the entire industry.
Between 1988 and 1997, 34 different producers released more than 70 PDAs. By the mid-1990s, PDAs were considered a prime example of a disappoint- ing, over-hyped technology that did not live up to expectations. Almost every major personal computer manufacturer and operating system provider was caught up in the wave of enthusiasm for visions of “pen-based” PDAs and “personal communicator” PDAs. The companies that experienced early set- backs included IBM, Compaq, HP, Tandy, Sony, Sharp, Casio, Atari, Fujitsu, Motorola, AT&T, and Microsoft. After the high-profile commercial failure of the Apple Newton PDA, interest in the technology (as measured by the num- ber of articles in the trade press) declined substantially after 1994.
The 34 different PDA producers can be divided into four distinct social groups: PC industry players, telecommunications industry players, consumer electronics players, and PC-oriented startup companies. As shown below, many of the early attempts to establish a new technological frame for PDA applica- tions can be seen as straightforward attempts to map an industry’s existing problems and solutions onto a new application area. Although the PDA startup companies were less well integrated and invested in existing technological frames, their views were at least initially shaped by their background in the PC industry. To the extent that PDA startups needed cooperation and resources from established players, they were forced to reckon with existing definitions of problems and solutions as well.
Many different technological frames were proposed in the early PDA in- dustry. Of the many definitions proposed during this 10-year period, four tech- nological frames were particularly influential on released products. These four frames for PDAs are summarized in Table 1, along with examples of each type.
What is striking is the diversity of proposed PDA technological frames, including the variety of proposed artifacts, problems, and solution require- ments. For example, defining a PDA as a “palmtop” sees the new technology as an extension of established PC technology but in a smaller package. The most important success criteria for palmtops are the ability to mimic the fea- tures of a PC, such as processor power and memory. In other PDA definitions, completely different success criteria apply. For pen-based computers, pen in- put and handwriting recognition become the key performance criteria, and the problem to be solved is not how to provide a small PC but how to address the needs of people who have refused to adopt PCs in the first place.
Table 2 shows the number and types of PDAs released during a ten-year period, before the establishment of the “connected organizer” as a widely agreed upon technological frame. The table also shows the producer compa- nies that released at least one PDA product of that type during the period. These data make it possible to link existing social groups with the search for a new common definition of the PDA’s technological frames, as is explored in the next section.
28 JONATHAN P. ALLEN
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New Mobile Application Evolution in the PDA Industry
How can the diversity of proposed PDA definitions be accounted for? In this section, existing social interactions and the search for a common definition are used to describe the sources of diversity in early PDA applications. The overall account of the early evolution of the PDA industry is summarized in Table 2. PDA evolution is divided into three phases: the initial extension of a previous technological frame (in this case, personal computers); the excite- ment and disappointment of the early search for sustainable new applica- tions; and the first widely established technological frame for PDAs. These phases correspond to the three periods identified in Table 3. Eight major ob- servations about early PDA evolution (A.1–A.2, B.1–B.3, C.1–C.3) are discussed below.
A.1 Marginal PC Companies Apply Existing PC Definition to PDAs
In the earliest years of the PDA industry (pre-1992), the palmtop was the domi- nant technological frame for the PDA. The main problem to be solved was how to provide PC functionality in a smaller package, servicing the needs of PC users. The palmtops looked like tiny PCs, with keyboards and familiar PC user interfaces, such as the DOS command line. Solutions were judged on performance criteria familiar to the PC industry, such as processor speed and memory. Most of these new products came from PC companies that were not market leaders, including Atari, Fujitsu, and HP. As the search for new PDA
1988–92
8 Palmtop Atari, Fujitsu(Poqet), HP, Bicom, Sharp, Olivet ti, Zeos 1 Pen-based computer Momenta 4 Others Psion, Cambridge, Microwriter, Amstrad
1993–96
15 Pen-based computer IBM, Compaq, Mitac, Apple, Sharp, Motorola, Casio, Tandy, AST(Grid), HP 8 Communicator BellSouth, Motorola, Sony, AT&T(EO), Nokia 4 Palmtop HP, Gateway 2 Connected organizer Palm, Compaq 3 Others Psion
1997
19 Connected organizer Casio, NEC, Philips, Ericsson, HP, Sharp, Hitachi, LG, Palm, IBM, TI 2 Pen-based computer Apple 1 Palmtop Toshiba 2 Others Psion, GeoFox
Table 2. PDA Products, 1988–1997, by Technological Frame and Company.
30 JONATHAN P. ALLEN
applications began, most players focused their search on problems and solu- tions they were already familiar with from their PC industry experience.
A.2 Radical Innovation Comes from the Periphery of the PC Industry
Much, but not all, of the early innovation in handheld applications centered on the palmtop technological frame. More radical innovations came from other companies, such as PDAs with one-handed chord keyboards (the Microwriter AgendA), the larger tablet-sized Cambridge Z88, and the first pen-based PDA, the Amstrad PenPad. These innovations came largely from European-based companies [2], more on the periphery of the U.S.-dominated PC industry.
B .1 Two Existing Technological Communities Develop Their Own Definitions of a PDA
In the second phase of PDA evolution, the prevailing technological frame of PDAs as palmtops gave way to problems, solutions, and artifacts that consid- ered PDA applications as unique in their own right and not simply as an ex- tension of the PC world. Two of these technological frames served as a reference point for a substantial number of released PDAs, particularly between 1992 and 1995. One technological frame for PDAs, the pen-based computer, em- phasized a new input method plus other easy-to-use features that would make computer technology acceptable for non-PC users. Another competing tech- nological frame for PDAs, personal communicators, focused on wireless com- munications capabilities for mobile professionals.
Phase 1: Initial extension
A.1 Marginal PC companies apply existing PC definition to PDAs (the palmtop) A.2 Radical innovation comes from the periphery of the PC industry (e.g., UK)
Phase 2: Excitement and disappointment
B.1 Two existing technological communities develop their own definitions of PDAs B.1.a Major PC companies propose pen-based computers B.1.b Telecommunications companies propose personal communicators B.2 Intense promotion activities among established players B.3 Dissatisfaction with attempted definitions, yet lit tle variet y in proposed solutions
Phase 3: First established definition
C.1 PDA redefined as connected organizer C.2 Start-up companies reluctantly embrace a total system approach C.3 PC companies slowly embrace new performance dimensions
Table 3. Three Phases of PDA Application Evolution.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 31
Existing PC industry players were the driving force behind the pen-based computer technological frame for PDAs. Apple was the most prominent ex- ample, investing an estimated $500 million in an ultimately unsuccessful at- tempt to establish itself in the PDA industry, but IBM, NCR, and Tandy also released pen-based computers during this period. (The IBM brand name for notebook computers, ThinkPad, is a leftover from its early pen-based com- puting efforts.) Microsoft, although not a hardware producer, released three generations of pen-based operating systems. The pen-based computer tech- nological frame became a response by the PC industry to redefine PDA appli- cations in a new direction.
At the same time, other producers were promoting a different vision of PDAs as personal communicators, placing the emphasis on wireless commu- nications capabilities. Although this technological frame was first proposed around the same time as pen-based computing, the number of PDA products influenced by the personal communicators technological frame increased as the commercial difficulties of the pen-based computer PDAs became more apparent. These personal communicators were produced by telecommunica- tions-oriented companies, such as AT&T, Motorola, and Nokia, as well as by consumer electronics companies interested in telecommunications. The tech- nological frame of personal communicators, though equally ineffective com- mercially during this period, was the response of the telecommunications community to the problem of how to define PDA applications.
B .2 Intense Promotion Activities Among Established Players
During this period of uncertain PDA technological frames, PC industry and telecommunications industry players engaged in intense promotional activity designed to recruit supporters and users to their vision of new applications. PDA producers raced to publicize “strategic alliances” with hardware ven- dors, independent software vendors, and user representatives [8]. At the same time, general promotional activities at trade shows and in the industry press reached levels of hype almost never seen in the PC industry up to that point.
B .3 Dissatisfaction with Attempted Definitions, Yet Little Variety in Proposed Solutions
Despite the commercial disappointment of most of the PDA products released under the influence of the pen-based computer and personal communicator technological frames, few players tried to promote alternative visions of PDA problems and solutions or to release different kinds of PDA artifacts. During this second phase, almost all the released PDAs that were not a continuation of the older palmtop technological frame could be classified as pen-based computers or personal communicators. Despite claims that radical innova- tion takes place in the earliest phases of a technology’s evolution [4], before a single technological frame established itself, there was a great deal of con- sensus in each of these communities about the appropriate applications for
32 JONATHAN P. ALLEN
PDAs. Established players persisted with these technological frames, or left the industry altogether, rather than emphasize different problems or solu- tion criteria.
C .1 PDA Redefined as a Connected Organizer
In the early PDA industry, the first widely agreed upon application definition was the connected organizer [2]. According to this technological frame, the PDA was not primarily about handwriting recognition, wireless communica- tions, or mimicking a PC. The PDA was redefined as primarily a personal- information manager that acted as a companion to a PC. The key performance criteria were now organizer functionality and easy connectivity with a PC. This redefinition began with the commercial success of the Palm Pilot PDA, which was a radical departure from previous PDA efforts. Within two years, almost all PDA products shared the same basic technological frame of the main problem PDAs were trying to solve, the same performance criteria and physical form as the Palm Pilot, including organizer functionality, synchroni- zation with PCs, and the smaller form factor. This marked the end of the search for a sustainable new PDA application, and the beginning of a transition to- ward industry competition and consolidation around a more widely shared technological frame that defined the problem PDAs were meant to address.
C .2 Start-up Companies Reluctantly Embrace a “Total System” Approach
Technological change research suggests that established companies are rarely the source of radical, or competence-destroying, innovation because of their focus on existing markets and customers [5]. This argument is consistent with the PDA case. The first established technological frame originated with a start- up company, Palm Computing, that was not a PC producer, a telecommunica- tions company, or a consumer electronics company. The most successful palmtop PDA producer, Psion, was also a start-up, developing its new appli- cations using a fraction of the resources of larger companies such as Apple and IBM.
Both Palm and Psion began as pure application software companies. In order to develop what they considered the most promising applications of PDA technology, however, they were compelled to develop the “total system” (meaning the hardware, the application software, and the operating system software) on their own.
C .3 PC Companies Slowly Embrace New Performance Dimensions
With the introduction of the first Palm Pilot in 1996, the establishment of the first widely shared PDA technological frame began. In the years that followed,
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 33
almost every PDA defined itself as a connected organizer. In the PC commu- nity, however, although most producers were influenced enough by the new technological frame to release connected-organizer products, these still pre- served many of the old performance dimensions. The connected-organizer PDA products released in 1997 by the first eight producer companies listed in Table 2 (Casio, NEC, Philips, Ericsson, HP, Sharp, Hitachi, and LG) all still took the form of a shrunken PC, with a small foldout keyboard, and still tried to pre- serve a user interface that looked as much like a Windows-based PC as pos- sible. In their advertisements and press releases, traditional PC performance measures such as processor speed and memory were used to promote PDA products from these companies. It took the PDA industry another two or three years to convert fully itself to a new technological frame for PDA applications.
Implications for New Mobile Application Evolution
A sociotechnical perspective of new mobile application evolution emphasizes the importance of technological frames, both as a starting point for new tech- nologies and as a way of describing the process through which established new applications emerge. The overall view of the technology evolution pro- cess is one of a search for a sustainable new application. This section discusses some of the implications of this sociotechnical perspective for the evolution of new mobile applications.
Existing Social Interaction
According to this sociotechnical perspective, technological change requires the sustained interaction of multiple social groups, each with its own concep- tion of the problems that a technology is designed to solve and the correct form of a solution. Three implications of this focus on existing social interac- tion are discussed below.
Existing Communities Apply Their Familiar Definitions to New Applications
In the PDA industry, the PC community tried to impose its own technological frame for plausible applications by focusing on one particular improvement in data input technology (handwriting recognition) in a generally computer- like device. The telecommunications companies attempted to define the tech- nological frame for PDAs as primarily communications devices.
Social Location Mat ters
The technological frames used to guide the search for new applications are affected by where an actor stands in relation to an established community. The first producers of palmtop PDAs were generally PC companies that were
34 JONATHAN P. ALLEN
not market leaders. The most radical innovations in PDA applications came from companies that remained outside the U.S.-dominated PC industry.
Communities Adjust Slowly
Even in the face of dramatic commercial success, it took most PC companies a few years to adjust to a new technological frame for PDA applications. This may point to a more general difficulty with moving toward membership of a new technological frame within a company. Although there were a few con- sumer electronics companies (e.g., Sharp and Sony) that experimented with multiple PDA technological frames, most PC and telecommunications com- panies maintained the same definition of PDA applications.
Search for a Common Definition
According to this sociotechnical perspective, technological change requires the establishment of a new technological definition along multiple dimen- sions. Three implications of the search for a common definition for mobile application evolution are discussed below.
Begin with Familiar Forms
For the first PDA producers, the starting point was the closest example of a successful technology that they could imagine: the PC. The palmtop defined PDA applications in terms of PC problems and solutions. Later, as technologi- cal communities proposed new technological frames, they also began with a frame of reference largely conditioned by their own successful technology experience.
Application Evolution Is a Search for a Sustainable New Definition
The evolution process for new mobile applications can be seen as a search process, with a result that seems obvious only in retrospect. New technologi- cal frames are proposed, developed, and then tested in a process that takes years to analyze and digest. A consensus of producers around the potential of a new application is no guarantee that the application is sustainable. Only when all of the necessary parties (including producers, investors, consumers, and regulators) are willing to interact in time, based on a new technological frame, can a technology application truly be called sustainable.
Experiments with New Definitions Require the Creation of an Entire User Experience
While the appeal of only developing one element of a new mobile application is understandable, new technological frames can only be tested by providing
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 35
the total system. In the PDA world, attempts to produce only application soft- ware, a new operating system, or hardware before a new technological frame established itself were relatively unsuccessful. The small start-ups like Palm and Psion that sold millions of PDAs were forced to take control of the entire user experience in order to bring their truly new definitions of PDA applica- tions to life.
Conclusion
Research in the sociology of technology suggests that the evolution of new applications should be seen as a process of social interaction between mul- tiple constituencies aiming to create a common definition of mobile technol- ogy problems and solutions that is only obvious in retrospect. This theory was illustrated by explaining the early evolution of a key new mobile application: the personal digital assistant (PDA). According to this sociotechnical perspec- tive, established technological communities attempt to impose their own defi- nitions of key problems and solutions on new mobile technology, whereas newer players are forced to provide a total system that attempts to completely redefine a new application area.
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JONATHAN P. ALLEN ([email protected]) is an assistant professor at the School of Business and Management, University of San Francisco. His research examines the organizational and social aspects of IT development and use, particularly emerging mobile, broadband, and ubiquitous IT. He received his Ph.D. in information and com- puter science from the University of California, Irvine, and was a faculty member at the Krannert School of Management, Purdue University, and the Department of Engi- neering at the University of Cambridge.
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